CONFIRMANDS DISCERN THEIR COMMITMENT TO CHRIST

Backin January, five eighth graders came together to begin the discipleship journey of Confirmation classes. Alongside leaders Rev. Tayler Necoechea and Pearl Assan, these confirmands wrestled with the great questions of Christian faith, Methodism, and what it means to claim membership to Princeton/Kingston UMC’s. All of this culminated on May 28th, Pentecost Sunday, when all five confirmands discerned that being confirmed at Princeton UMC was what the Holy Spirit was leading them toward. Each confirmand has a unique faith story to share.

Alex DiStase

When I think about my faith story, my mind goes to PUMC. Church was always a very important part of my life, and that started here at PUMC. Not only have I enjoyed attending church, but more than anything I enjoyed the community I became a part of along the way. Ever since I was little, I attended church service and eventually became a part of the community. I am so grateful for this church and the people in it. During covid was one of the many times I became aware of how lucky we are to be a part of something so great.

I’ve always gone to church, I was baptized here and growing up I made some great memories here. First I had gone with my family and as I grew older I became a part of the children’s choir and started volunteering at CCK. CCK is one of the things I value the most about our church. My twin sister and I started helping out my grandfather, Larry Apperson, on Wednesdays and it became something I really enjoyed. Eventually covid hit and closed CCK for a period of time. And recently I have been a part of Confirmation class.

My faith journey and being a part of this church is something I am grateful for every day. My faith journey was an easy thing for me because of the people I have been surrounded by my entire life.

Losing and Gaining Confidence

Hello PUMC congregation. My name is Phoenix Roth and I’ve been a member of this church since I was born. People might remember me crawling around the church on a front pew or starring as baby Jesus in the Christmas Eve service. At a young age, I had a lot of confidence in my abilities. I didn’t hide from what I thought people thought of me; I was my own, unique self. I participated in the church’s children’s choir and musicals, and felt on top of the world in soccer. I knew I was good, even though I was playing on a local team where half the kids might not have wanted to be there.

As I continued to grow up, I grew more self-conscious. I felt like I needed to prove my worth. Every negative thing that I was told stayed with me for way too long. My soccer team got better because we acquired a new coach and with her, a handful of new, strong players that came with her from her old club. Things seemed as if they were great, as if this was just what I needed- a good coaching environment with good players around me to help me develop and get better. However, it wasn’t all good forever. The first season or two were good; I was so happy about my team’s continuous success. But I was starting to see a decrease in my confidence. As the competition and therefore the stakes increased, I put more pressure on myself to perform. My coach constantly confused me by yelling at me to dribble when I would pass, and to pass when I would dribble. This confused me and made me constantly tentative and wary of my abilities. Even though I did often feel tentative, there were still times that I felt that I had done well, but I never got the positive feedback to confirm it. After one specific game where I was confident I played well, my coach told me I had not been “disciplined.” It was all too much. I locked myself in the bathroom for two hours, crying. I couldn’t deal with the lack of assurance from someone I believed knew what she was talking about. Not a week later did I have an encounter that was the breaking point for me. During this conversation, my coach pulled me and one of my teammates who had been experiencing similar confidence issues aside, and she grilled us for twenty minutes straight. We both stood there, too shocked for words, and cried. She told us that our team wasn’t performing well because of our mentalities, even though so much of those mental issues had stemmed from her. During this time, I hadn’t been close to the church. We sometimes watched service remotely, but I hadn’t felt connected. I knew I was missing something.

We decided to stay for the spring season and see if things got better. It didn’t, so many of my teammates and I decided to find a new team. Clearly things weren’t going well. That’s how I ended up at my current club. It seems like I can’t ever complain about my current coach because of my past experiences. And don’t get me wrong, I still have issues with confidence and perfectionism. But I can confidently say that I have grown. And I couldn’t have done any of it without God’s love and the support of people around me. Every time I feel particularly unworthy or bad about myself, I try to remember the fact that I have a purpose, and that this is just a step in my journey of God’s plan. I just try to remember that God loves me, and so do so many other people. And I know that I make mistakes, but it is all a part of the process. You can’t learn without mistakes.

In addition, I think that this year has posed many changes and challenges, and I’ve had to adapt. I lost a lot of friends, but got closer with others, joined a new, more competitive team where I had to fight for my spot and reputation, and the challenges of school where all the teachers are anxious to fit all their work in before finals and graduation. All of this brought stress and anxiety, and I didn’t have an outlet or a place to talk about all of this. This Confirmation class brought me that. A safe space where I could discuss my faith and how it all ties back to the real world, the world that God created. And in all honesty, I was hesitant about whether this class would be worthwhile, especially since I knew I would be missing a lot because of soccer. But the more I attended class, the more I felt reassured.

I grew up with the church, and I went there almost every Sunday with my dad and brother. I joined the choir, was in youth group for a bit, and managed to keep going even during COVID. I could never have done this without my parents always pushing and encouraging me to keep doing things for the church. Without the support from my parents, I would have never joined the choir, which was a group I stayed with for 5 years. It was a great experience that I don’t think I could have found in other places. I learned the importance of a team when in Children’s choir, and many of the people I met there I still know today. Whether it was in the play or the spring musical, they were always there to support me through it.

A big part of my life has been during the coronavirus pandemic. I joined youth group at that time, which I unfortunately didn’t end up staying in due to scheduling conflicts with other things. I also stayed in choir. If it wasn’t for my family that kept me in choir and attending virtual church, I wouldn’t have the same connection to the church as I do today.

Lastly, I want to talk about how my family helped me with confirmation this year. While I was initially hesitant to attend, my dad was a key help in me figuring out how I felt about it. I ended up really enjoying Confirmation, and the experience helped me discover who I am as a Christian. The faith story, this faith story, let me write all of this out and I don’t think I would have been the same person without my family along the way.

I will be excited to see how being confirmed will affect me in the future. Whether it was performing in the musical with my brother, or going to church regularly with my parents, I learned a lot about myself, and the Christian religion of which I follow.

Growing up as a Christian, I was always surrounded by a strong community of faith. My family attended church regularly and I participated in Sunday school and youth group activities. As I got older, I began to explore my faith more deeply and found great comfort in the teachings of the Bible. I also discovered the joy of serving others and became involved in various volunteer opportunities through the church. My faith has been a source of strength and guidance throughout my life, and I continue to find inspiration in the message of love and compassion that Jesus taught. As I grew older, I began to realize how strict and rigid Catholic churches can be in its practices and beliefs. I learned that my father grew up in a time when the Church had a lot of power and influence over people’s lives, and that many of the rules and traditions were strictly enforced. This made me appreciate even more the freedom and flexibility of Christianity. I am grateful that I have the ability to explore my faith in a way that feels authentic and meaningful to me, without feeling constrained by a set of rigid rules and expectations. I realized that my father’s upbringing had shaped him into being a believing Christian father, but I am also grateful for the ways in which my own experiences had allowed me to teach me my own path and connect with God in my own unique way.

In spring of 2020 I was in 5th grade. It was the spring that George Floyd was murdered. His death caused a movement in the country that was long overdue. Police brutality against black males had always been a concern, but was now at the forefront of the news and many conversations. My parents always talked to me about what went on in the world but this was the first time I was really aware of what was happening.

My mom had previously done things involving activism but it was at this time I had the opportunity to go to a protest. I was nervous at first but soon realized that it was nice to be among like-minded people who cared as much as I do. I quickly learned that instead of sitting at home doing nothing, it would make a bigger impact if I actually went out and helped. I understood that my voice mattered too. Later that spring my dad had the opportunity to speak at a local protest. It was one of the first times I got to hear his perspective growing up as a black man in this country.

In the fall of 2021 I entered 7th grade. I was still going to school with the same kids but things seemed a little different. A lot of the kids in my school, mainly boys, started to throw around racial comments like jokes. It was very annoying how they could turn horrible words with meanings behind them into a joke that they think they can use amongst friends. I would say things but they never cared. Eventually there was a video of a boy I knew saying the N-word. I was fed up and decided that because I now had proof, I should do something with it. I went to our principal which resulted in him having to face consequences. I knew it wouldn’t get everybody to stop but it was nice to let people know I wasn’t going to stand for what they were saying and doing. I realized if I wanted to make a change I had to use my voice. I joined the BSA, (Black Student Alliance), where we were able to do things around our school like host a movie night and speak to a panel of parents about our experiences. Over the last three years I’ve become more aware of what’s going on in the world as well as seeing what’s going on in the community, and I realize I can use my voice to say what is right and wrong. (Anya not pictured - will officially be confirmed at a later date.)